Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 1/30/17

That Old School Spirit – EduShyster : That Old School Spirit I talk to Calvin College alumna Sara Moslener about why her letter in opposition to Betsy DeVos has struck such a chord among Calvin Knights (and Calvinites…) EduShyster : Your open letter to students and alumni of Calvin College, opposing the confirmation of fellow alumna Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education, has now been signed by ne

DeVos vote. Chicagoans demand Durbin and Duckworth vote no. | Fred Klonsky : DeVos vote. Chicagoans demand Durbin and Duckworth vote no. Illinois’ two Democratic senators have not declared how they will vote on the DeVos nomination. As a result Chicagoans will figuratively knock on their downtown doors tomorrow at the Federal Building, 230 South Dearborn at 3:30. From the Facebook page: Senators

How the Supreme Court affects your classroom and your students - Lily's Blackboard : How the Supreme Court affects your classroom and your students We should care who sits on the U.S. Supreme Court because court decisions affect our collective bargaining rights, the access our students have to the educational opportunities they deserve, and our children’s (and grandchildren’s) future. Justices ma

Democrats: DeVos didn’t provide ‘anywhere close to satisfaction’ on our questions - The Washington Post : Democrats: DeVos didn’t provide ‘anywhere close to satisfaction’ on our questions Betsy DeVos, the Michigan billionaire President Trump tapped as his education secretary, delivered answers Monday to the more than 1,000 questions put to her by Democrats on the Senate education committee, just

Oppose Confirmation of Betsy DeVos for Secretary of Education : U.S. Senate Oppose Confirmation of Betsy DeVos for Secretary of Education The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights/The Leadership Conference Education Fund View the PDF of this letter here. Dear Senator, On behalf of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and the 247 organizations listed below, we urge you to

Teaching Our Minds to See (and Touch) Anew | The Huffington Post : Teaching Our Minds to See (and Touch) Anew The New York Times Magazine article about the lead poisoning of Flynt Michigan’s water supply used a phrase that is shared in medical schools and, in the wake of the 2016 election, it should hit home hard. The Times cites Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha’s wisdom, “The eyes don’t see what the mind

The Achievement Gap: Now Closed by the Alternative Executive Order | BustED Pencils : The Achievement Gap: Now Closed by the Alternative Executive Order Amidst all the furor (Did I spell that right?), the derisive snickering, and those silly pink cat hats that surrounded the water coolers during these first few days of the new administration, it went virtually unnoticed that the Trump administrat

CURMUDGUCATION: PAC Makes Final DeVos Push : PAC Makes Final DeVos Push America Rising is a super PAC created by Republicans back in 2013 when the RNC determined that they needed a group that did "nothing but post inappropriate Democrat utterances and act as a clearinghouse for information on Democrats.” You may remember them as the folks that followed every single Democratic candidate around and

ACT NOW: Reject Betsy DeVos' nomination for Secretary of Education! | MomsRising's Blog : ACT NOW: Reject Betsy DeVos' nomination for Secretary of Education! We are still reeling from yesterday's events - the day started with families being turned back at our borders and ended with thousands protesting this horrible policy at airports across our country. This is not acceptable and sadly we must k

How Jeff Sessions helped kill equitable school funding in Alabama : How Jeff Sessions helped kill equitable school funding in Alabama Ryan Gabrielson Posted with permission from ProPublica In the early 1990s, children across Alabama’s large rural stretches still attended faltering public schools, some with exposed wiring and rainwater leaking into classrooms. The education was in disrepair, too.

Going To Notrump: The Meaning Of Resistance – redqueeninla : Going To Notrump: The Meaning Of Resistance Let me explain why a vote for Steve Zimmer in the LAUSD fourth board district, is like bringing to life an avatar for RESISTANCE . Apply to the County Registrar before the close of February for your ballot to be counted here! Point of order: ‘Resisting’ means here: Refusing to be manipulated d

Dear New York Times | radical eyes for equity : Dear New York Times It is the end of the month, and as I click on what appear to be important articles in my social media feed, you, The New York Times , alert me that I have exhausted my free access to your news and commentary, including options for subscribing to your publication. For a long time now, those messages have, frankly, irritated me bec

Welcome 2017!! | Bill Ayers : Welcome 2017!! So long 2016—all your surprises, twists and turns, heartbreak and hope are behind us now. Everything was possible on January 1, but nothing is possible any longer. You are finished, and it’s done. Fresh surprises are up ahead, and new vistas are opening—do you see that small figure gesturing wildly from that distant and indistinct shore? Let’s dive int

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all : Start Your Week with Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all BATS Meet with Education Staff of Senators Sanders and Hassan 3 by dianeravitch / 13min Leaders of the Badass Teachers Association met in DC with the education staff of Senator Sanders (VT) and Senator Hassan NH). They spoke for all of us who c

Louisiana Educator: The Hidden Facts About Cuts to Public Education : The Hidden Facts About Cuts to Public Education This article in the Baton Rouge Advocate by reporter Will Sentell describes the dilemma faced by Governor Edwards as he attempts to balance the out-of-balance state budget by trimming proposed funding to public schools. As usual, the Advocate education writer omits important facts

Why Evangelicals Are Speaking Out Against Betsy DeVos - POLITICO Magazine : Why Evangelicals Are Speaking Out Against Betsy DeVos The conservative Christian education secretary nominee would seem like an evangelical favorite. But some from within her own faith say she’s not right for the job On the surface, Betsy DeVos seems like an evangelical Christian’s dream pick for education secretary. The

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES : WEEKEND QUOTABLES O'hare Airport Saturday night. Donald Trump [Muslim ban] " is working out very nicely, and we’re going to have a very, very strict ban, and we’re going to have extreme vetting, which we should have had in this country for many years.” -- Washington Post Naomi Klein Let us be clear: This is not a peaceful transition of power. It’

Progressives launch last-minute push against Betsy DeVos, and conservatives counter with online ad campaign - The Washington Post : Progressives launch last-minute push against Betsy DeVos, and conservatives counter with online ad campaign More than 300 state lawmakers hailing from all 50 states have added their voices to the chorus objecting to President Trump’s nomination of Betsy DeVos as educ

Betsy DeVos's Nomination Inspires NYC Parents of Form Grassroots Group - Network For Public Education : Betsy DeVos’s Nomination Inspires NYC Parents of Form Grassroots Group Public School Watchdogs is a completely grassroots group of parents, children and teachers organizing through our schools. We’ve spread by word of mouth from just one parent standing in front of her school collecting letters

Glenda Ritz on Mike Pence, Betsy DeVos and Indiana's School Choice Program - Network For Public Education : Glenda Ritz on Mike Pence, Betsy DeVos and Indiana’s School Choice Program by Glenda Ritz, former Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction We did not hear much about education during the presidential campaign. But one thing that Donald Trump made clear in the months leading up to his el

Cutting middle class scholarship could hit Southern California hard | 89.3 KPCC : Cutting middle class scholarship could hit Southern California hard A proposal by Governor Jerry Brown phase out funding for the Middle Class Scholarship could affect more than 46,000 students statewide. That’s the number of University of California and California State University students who received the tuition a

Badass Teachers Association: Being Muslim Is Not a Crime by Ferial Pearson : Being Muslim Is Not a Crime by Ferial Pearson As-Salam-u-Alaikum Peace be upon you Bismillah ar rahman ar rahim I would like to begin by paying my respects to the indigenous people whose land we are on right now. In particular, I pay my respects to the Umoⁿhoⁿ people for whom this city is named. Unless you belong to the

What Might Seem to Benefit the Educational Consumer Turns Out to Be a Disaster for Society | janresseger : What Might Seem to Benefit the Educational Consumer Turns Out to Be a Disaster for Society This week the Senate will consider President Trump’s nomination of Betsy DeVos to be our next U.S. Secretary of Education. Tomorrow the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee wil

Lack of Community and Teacher Involvement Leads to Abandoned Math Innovation (Part 2) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice : Lack of Community and Teacher Involvement Leads to Abandoned Math Innovation (Part 2) The old adage of “success has many fathers, failure is an orphan” rings true in the aftermath of a district in the heart of Silicon Valley abandoning a highly-regarded, “p

Protecting Privacy at the Expense of Privacy | Truth in American Education : Protecting Privacy at the Expense of Privacy When we think of children, the first thing that comes to mind is their protection; protection from known risks, protection from violence, drunk drivers, illness, and the likes of Madonna and Ashley Judd. In the age of internet-everything we want kids to be safe from exposure t

CURMUDGUCATION: Friedrichs At It Again : Friedrichs At It Again You remember Rebecca Friedrichs. She had a whole lawsuit named after her in which she was the face of union-busting in California . That case stalled when Justice Scalia died and the GOP decided that they would keep the court stuck with eight justices for almost a year (yes, that would be the same GOP that says only dirty rotten Amer

Seattle Schools Community Forum: HCC and Equity, Part One : HCC and Equity, Part One It is clear from many, many threads and comments that to talk about the Highly Capable Cohort (formerly known as APP) is to start a discussion about equity. I think that equity is certainly a part of the picture but to focus only on that is a disservice to all children who would benefit from the program. I'll say